A woman was accidentally shot during a tense stand-off between police and a man who was allegedly wielding knives. 

Queensland Police had been responding to reports of an armed 28-year-old man on Benjamina Street in Mount Sheridan, Cairns, at 5.11pm on Saturday.

The man had allegedly attempted to break into two homes when he was confronted by the residents and he armed himself with two large knives.

He was then found at the intersection of Foster and Hardy roads and told to surrender ‘numerous’ times.

Officers attempted to hit the man with a cop car before opening fire.

A 50-year-old woman was accidentally hit by a stray bullet in the leg while standing near the front of her home.

Far Northern region Assistant Commissioner Graeme Paine described the situation as ‘extremely dangerous’.

‘Things can escalate very quickly … it is very hard to anticipate a person’s responses to verbal directions or different commands,’ he said. 

‘It’s the actions of the person at the time, and the level of threat, which then dictates the response by the officers.’

Police shot the man in the arm and leg.

The man and woman were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition.

‘It’s an extremely dangerous situation, we are well aware of what can happen with knives in a public place,’ Assistant Commissioner Paine said. 

‘It was a busy residential and traffic area, it appears that one of the bullets that was discharged from the firearm has struck this lady in the lower leg.’ 

The Queensland Police Service Ethical Standards Command is investigating the incident.

‘We’re focused now on doing the investigation, getting a really complete picture of what happened and supporting both the officers and police.’

Anyone with information or dashcam footage has been urged to come forward to police.